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“THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHOULD LISTEN TO FBI DIRECTOR FREEH” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E905 on May 13, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHOULD LISTEN TO FBI DIRECTOR FREEH
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HON. GERALD B.H. SOLOMON
of new york
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 13, 1997
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the evidence and implications keep piling up around President Clinton's administration regarding fundraising abuses which potentially led to breaches of national security and economic espionage. I know I have been heard many times in this section of the Record and during various congressional debates, but that is only because of the grave concern I have about the depth of the potential foreign influence and infiltration into our Government. And I don't doubt that there are many people of all political persuasions who share my concerns based on these developments.
I feel I can say that Mr. Speaker because I know that Director Freeh of the FBI has been investigating these very serious matters for months and hopes to get to the roots of the scheme both here and abroad. Another reason I feel we have reached a sort of critical mass is because of the response of the media over the last 6 months or more who have helped uncover and draw attention to the dealings of fellows like John Huang, Charlie Trie, and Johnny Chung within this administration, the White House, and the Democratic National Committee. Included is the New York Times who has repeatedly called for an independent counsel, almost as much as I have, to investigate these matters. The bottom line is, we are dealing with what is turning out to be a sensitive investigation of our national security and economic security that may have been compromised for political gain. We need to remove those politics and handle it with the seriousness of purpose it deserves and I hope the President and his Attorney General, Janet Reno, would feel the same. And they don't have to listen to me, they can listen to Director Freeh and the following editorial from the New York Times which I would like to submit to the Record.
Good Advice From Mr. Freeh
According to numerous news accounts, the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louis Freeh, has given Attorney General Janet Reno some sound advice for carrying out her duty in the White House fund-raising scandals. Unfortunately, Ms. Reno still refuses to heed it, despite the mounting damage to the Justice Department's reputation and her own.
Mr. Freeh has urged Ms. Reno to seek the appointment of an independent counsel to conduct the investigation into possibly corrupt fund-raising practices in President Clinton's 1996 re-election drive. He cited the gravity and sprawling nature of the case, plus early evidence pointing to high-level White House involvement. In addition to offering this wise counsel, the F.B.I. Director has just shown his concern about the widening campaign-finance inquiry by more than doubling the number of bureau employees assigned to it.
Of course, Mr. Freeh's agency faces its own internal problems, and in advising the Attorney General of the need for an independent counsel, he was only relaying what has been apparent for months now, and not just to Republican partisans in Congress. Still, it is reassuring to know that at least someone high up in the Justice Department understands the serious nature and sensitivity of the White House fund-raising mess, and the unavoidable conflict of interest it has created for Ms. Reno and the Justice Department.
Less reassuring is Ms. Reno's response. In defending her refusal to seek an independent counsel, she has expressed confidence in the expertise and judgment of law enforcement professionals within the Justice Department's criminal division. These professionals have argued against shifting the investigation from their control to an outside prosecutor, based on a dubious reading of the known evidence and the applicable campaign-finance laws. Now it turns out that Mr. Freeh, one of the nation's highest-ranking law enforcement officials, has been offering precisely the opposite advice.
Yesterday Ms. Reno tried to downplay the significance of this conflict within her department over the need for an independent counsel. But she has yet to give a convincing explanation of why she has chosen to reject Mr. Freeh's counsel.
Senator Orrin Hatch, a Republican and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who sparred with Ms. Reno at a hearing last week, said he was not surprised by Mr. Freeh's stance.
``Who better than the F.B.I. Director could determine whether there are `grounds to investigate' whether senior White House officials were implicated in violations of the law? '' Mr. Hatch asked by way of making a point that Ms. Reno must at long last grasp.
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